Five things I suffered through the 1970s

As a child growing up in the 1970s, I suffered a level of abuse that is difficult to conceive of in the modern age. I wonder sometimes how my parents avoided jail time for some of these heinous and wicked crimes. Listed below are five of the most evil things that they subjected me to.

1. Failing to care for my safety.

My childhood was certainly reckless and bold and included several occasions when I travelled in a car without a seatbelt. There were even times, and I know this will shock many of you, when I travelled in the rear of a station wagon. And I don’t mean on the back seat! I mean in the luggage area!! Yes, my parents were known to overload the vehicle, sometimes with as many and 6 or 7 children in an ordinary station wagon. I bear the scars of this abuse to this very day.

2. Physical Abuse

This will certainly astonish many of you, but I was indeed subject to physical abuse. I recall one time for example (and there were many) when I was outraged and various injustices that were being perpetrated, when I struck my sister’s ice-cream from her hand. The act was, of course, a form of protest, a righteous exercising of my right to free speech and free expression, but my parents, rather than reasoning with me, chose to strike me! Yes, physical violence was brought upon my childhood body in the form of a sharp slap upon the buttocks. Hard to believe that they managed to avoid the authorities after that one.

3. Disdain for environmental concerns

My parents were wilful pillagers of our natural resources with scant regard for the wellbeing of the environment. There were times, more than one, when they turned on a garden sprinkler without need. On these occasions, they would encourage children to gambol under the sprinkler for no more reason than to enjoy themselves. Yes, they would rape the very environment that they lived in for nothing more than wanton hedonism. There were other times, when we would drive for hours in a vehicle that used leaded gasoline! For nothing more than 'a day in the countryside'. Oh the shame. It's difficult to talk about, but sometimes we would even collect the limbs of trees that had passed away and make a 'campfire'. (without having a certified fire extinguisher at hand too I might add).

4. Lack of stimulus

Hard as it is to believe, my parents never even provided me with the most basic of smartphones. There were no tablets, no laptop and no xbox. We had a thing called 'television' that showed black and white videos, but you couldn't choose which videos you wanted to watch! You had but 4 choices and they were decided by somebody else! Yes, my days were spent in a painful wilderness of boredom where I was forced to seek stimulus IN THE WILD. Yes, I would have to ride my bicycle (without a helmet), play sports (without adequate protective equipment) or read from sheets of paper that had been bound together between pieces of cardboard. (My parents called these ‘books’). It’s hardly surprising that I grew into the maladjusted adult you see today.

5. Inadequate nutrition

This may be the most shocking of all. My parents did not provide me with nutrition that was suited to my needs. My mother would cook whatever SHE WANTED and then I would have to eat it. No organic, GM free, gluten free, low fat alternatives were made available. Rarely did we ever go out to eat, instead I would be forced to eat in the house, at a designated place and at a designated time! Clearly my parents did not understand the importance of being a free spirit.

So you can see why I have so many adjustment disorders, the abuse I suffered as a child has clearly caused me stress beyond my limits.

Don't forget to check out my book, Spider Dunstan's Teeth, which is set in the (only slightly less awful) 1980s. It features two CIS white males, ignorant of their privilege as they drive around in a stolen car, indulge in illegal substances and ogle the topless body of an exploited barperson. You can explore all sorts of ways to order it by clicking on this link here.

Photo "1972 DeTomaso Pantera" courtesy Frank Deanrdo, Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/44576730@N06/4842540184